Aurora's Community Energy Plan

The Town of Aurora (with a population of 55,445) will be developing a Community Energy Plan in order to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in their community. Through this planning process, the Town of Aurora will establish a baseline GHG emissions inventory, set emissions reduction targets, and outline actions to reduce GHG emissions for all sectors including transportation, residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, energy, and water. Aurora is planning to model its GHG reduction targets after the Ontario Provincial targets outlined in the Climate Change Action Plan, which are a reduction of 37 % by 2030 and 80 % by 2050 below 1990 levels. The Town of Aurora plans to join FCM’s Partners for Climate Protection Program (PCP) in 2018, and the plan will follow the PCP 5-milestone framework as well as the government of Ontario’s Municipal Energy Plan methodology. By developing the Community Energy Plan, the Town of Aurora will achieve milestones 1 to 3 in the PCP program. Stakeholders and community members will be engaged in the planning process and the Town of Aurora will work with stakeholders to develop shared visions for energy use in the community, identify conservation objectives and create local energy champions for implementation. The baseline energy study and energy mapping will establish the baseline energy use for the Town of Aurora through an energy-use model supported by GIS spatial analysis and mapping. The final Community Energy Plan will develop actions to reach the preferred state of energy use in Aurora, and these actions will also be integrated with the Town of Aurora’s Corporate Energy Management Plan and Corporate Environmental Action Plan. The Community Energy Plan will include triple bottom line considerations, and the plan will promote economically viable and environmentally sustainable solutions; will include meaningful public engagement and input; and will support sustainable energy policies and practices in the Town of Aurora for community development, transportation transit services, and economic development. An implementation strategy will be part of the Community Energy Plan and will include a monitoring plan with key performance indicators to allow the Town of Aurora to measure and track success and progress towards reaching the targets and objectives. The Community Energy Plan will position the Town of Aurora as an energy leader and a community that encourages sustainable development and lifestyles.